The Broadway production of Mothers And Sons starring Tyne Daly is set to close after just four months. The Terrence McNally play, which opened in February (14), will have its final performance on 22 June (14) at the John Golden Theatre, the show's producers announced on Tuesday (10Jun14).
The news comes just two days after the production lost out on two prizes at the 2014 Tony Awards. Daly was nominated for Leading Actress in a Play, and the production itself received a nod for Best Play, but lost in both categories.
Mothers and Sons centres on a woman who returns to New York City years after her son died from AIDS to visit his former partner who is now married with a son.

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The Tony Awards are the biggest night in theater, but they've often struggled to attract viewers who are more interested in TV or movies as their primary source of entertainment. This year, though, they shouldn't have any trouble attracting an audience full of binge-watchers and moviegoers, as the 2014 nominations are filled with familiar faces. Whether you're going through Breaking Bad withdrawal or you haven't been stopped singing the score to Frozen in months or you're just sick of waiting for the final installment of The Hobbit franchise to hit theaters, this year's Tony Awards should cater to all of your interests.
However, it's not all good news for the Hollywood stars who decided to tread the boards this year. Plenty of big name actors were left off the list of nominees, resulting in reactions of shock (Are the Tony voters just not big Harry Potter fans?) and disbelief (No, McKellan and Stewart have to be here somewhere. I'll check again). We've gathered up all of the Tony nominations and snubs for our favorite Hollywood stars into one handy guide, so you'll be ready to place your bets by the time the awards roll around June 8th.
The Nominees:
Bryan Cranston We Know Him For: His award winning turn as science teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White on Breaking Bad. He is the one who knocks. Nominated For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role as President Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way Previous Nominations: None This Makes Up For: Being shot full of holes at the end of Breaking Bad; the threat of losing an Emmy to the McConaissance
Chris O'Dowd We Know Him For: Romancing Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids; providing the world's worst tech support in The I.T. Crowd Nominated For: Best Leading Actor in a Play as the gentle giant Lennie in Of Mice and Men Previous Nominations: None This Makes Up For: That time he had to pretend to be disabled during a disastrous night at the theater
Tony Shalhoub We Know Him For: Playing the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk on Monk Nominated For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for playing theater icon Moss Hart in Act One Previous Nominations: Two Best Featured Actor in a Play nods: in 1992 for Conversations with My Father and 2013 for Golden Boy This Makes Up For: Years of having to clean up after people in the middle of murder investigations
Tyne Daly We Know Her For: Being one half of the most famous female cop duo on television, Mary Beth Lacey on Cagney and Lacey Nominated For: Best Leading Actress in a Play for her turn as the grieving mother of an AIDS victim in Mothers and Sons Previous Nominations/Wins: One Best Leading Actress in a Musical win for 1989's Gypsy and one 2006 Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for Rabbit Hole This Makes Up For: Not immediately being offered a guest star stint on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Come on, one of Terry's twins is named after her!
Neil Patrick Harris We Know Him For: Playing the legen - wait for it! - dary Barney Stinson on How I Met Your MotherNominated For: Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his in-your-face performance in Hedwig and the Angry Inch Previous Nominations: None, but he did host the awards four times. This Makes Up For: That disaster of a How I Met Your Mother series finale. Kind of.
Sutton Foster We Know Her For: Starring in the cult ABC Family hit show Bunheads, playing Brett’s sign-flipping girlfriend Coco on Flight of the Concords Nominated For: Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Violet, a Southern girl travelling to get televangelist to heal her terrible scars in Violet Previous Nominations/Wins: Three nominations and two wins, both for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for 2002's Throughly Modern Millie and 2011's Anything Goes This Makes Up For: The fact that Bunheads was cancelled far too soon. They will never take Khaleesi's dragons!
Idina Menzel We Know Her For: Voicing Elsa in Frozen, playing Rachel Berry's birth mother, Shelby Corcoran on Glee, her alter ego, Adele Dazeem Nominated For: Best Leading Actress in a Musical for playing Elizabeth, a woman struggling with the different paths her life could take in If/Then Previous Nominations/Wins: One nomination in 1996 for Rent and one win for playing Elphaba in 2004's Wicked This Makes Up For: John Travolta's Oscars flub; everyone having "Let It Go" stuck in our heads for the past six, long months
Stephen Fry We Know Him For: Making up one half of Fry and Laurie, starring in Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder, being an international treasure Nominated For: Best Featured Actor in a Play for his turn as the pompous, scheming servant Malvolio in Twelfth Night Previous Nominations: Best Book of a Musical in 1987 for Me and My Girl This Makes Up For: Playing the least intimidating villain in The Hobbit films. At least Smaug can breathe fire!
Anika Noni Rose We Know Her For: Voicing Tiana, the first black Disney princess in The Princess and the Frog, holding her own opposite Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls Nominated For: Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Beneatha, the activist sister of Walter Younger in A Raisin in the Sun Previous Nominations/Wins: A Best Featured Actress in a Musical win for Caroline, or Change in 2004 This Makes Up For: Having her two most famous characters overshadowed by Beyonce and Adele Dazeem
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The Snubs:
Daniel Radcliffe We Know Him For: Playing the most famous and most beloved boy wizard of all time, Harry Potter Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for his hilarious and heartbreaking performance as Billy, a crippled Irish boy in The Cripple of Inishmaan At Least He's Got: An encyclopedic knowledge of spells and hexes with which to enact revenge
Denzel WashingtonWe Know Him For: His Oscar winning performances in Glory and Training Day, being one of the biggest movie stars in the world Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for his take on the iconic role of Walter Younger in A Raisin in the Sun At Least He's Got: His devastating looks to fall back on.
James Franco We Know Him For: His Oscar-nominated performance in 127 Hours, his lackluster Oscar hosting gig, the dreads and grills he rocked in Spring Breakers, being the older brother of Dave Franco Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role as George in Of Mice and Men At Least He's Got: About 50 other slightly pretentious artistic endeavors he can distract himself with
Zach Braff We Know Him For: Playing the goofy daydreamer JD on Scrubs, making Garden State, the movie everyone loves to hate Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Musical for playing playwright David Shayne in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway At Least He's Got: One of the cutest celebrity friendships ever with Donald Faison to comfort him in his time of need
Zachary Quinto We Know Him As: Murderous Sylar on Heroes, the rebooted version of Spock in Star Trek Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for his interpretation of Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie At Least He's Got: A new Star Trek movie coming up to keep him busy
Ian McKellan We Know Him For: Playing two of the most iconic and nerdy characters of all time: Magneto and Gandalf Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for both No Man's Land and Waiting For Godot, which ran in rep at the Cort Theater At Least He's Got: Many more exciting New York adventures with Patrick Stewart to cheer him up
Patrick Stewart We Know Him For: Playing two of the most iconic and nerdy characters of all time: Professor X and Captain Jean Luc Picard Snubbed For: Best Leading Actor in a Play for both No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot, which he starred in opposite McKellan At Least He's Got: Many more adorable New York adventures with Ian McKellan to cheer him up
Michelle Williams We Know Her For: Her Oscar nominated performances in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine and My Week With Marilyn, playing bad girl with a heart of gold, Jen Lindley, on Dawson's Creek Snubbed For: Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in Cabaret At Least She's Got: Those Dawson's Creek residual checks to make up for it.
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For the bulk of every Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, moose and squirrel would engage in high concept escapades that satirized geopolitics, contemporary cinema, and the very fabrics of the human condition. With all of that to work with, there's no excuse for why the pair and their Soviet nemeses haven't gotten a decent movie adaptation. But the ingenious Mr. Peabody and his faithful boy Sherman are another story, intercut between Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to teach kids brief history lessons and toss in a nearly lethal dose of puns. Their stories and relationship were much simpler, which means that bringing their shtick to the big screen would entail a lot more invention — always risky when you're dealing with precious material.
For the most part, Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman handles the regeneration of its heroes aptly, allowing for emotionally substance in their unique father-son relationship and all the difficulties inherent therein. The story is no subtle metaphor for the difficulties surrounding gay adoption, with society decreeing that a dog, no matter how hyper-intelligent, cannot be a suitable father. The central plot has Peabody hosting a party for a disapproving child services agent and the parents of a young girl with whom 7-year-old Sherman had a schoolyard spat, all in order to prove himself a suitable dad. Of course, the WABAC comes into play when the tots take it for a spin, forcing Peabody to rush to their rescue.
Getting down to personals, we also see the left brain-heavy Peabody struggle with being father Sherman deserves. The bulk of the emotional marks are hit as we learn just how much Peabody cares for Sherman, and just how hard it has been to accept that his only family is growing up and changing.
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But more successful than the new is the film's handling of the old — the material that Peabody and Sherman purists will adore. They travel back in time via the WABAC Machine to Ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, and the Trojan War, and 18th Century France, explaining the cultural backdrop and historical significance of the settings and characters they happen upon, all with that irreverent (but no longer racist) flare that the old cartoons enjoyed. And oh... the puns.
Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman is a f**king treasure trove of some of the most amazingly bad puns in recent cinema. This effort alone will leave you in awe.
The film does unravel in its final act, bringing the science-fiction of time travel a little too close to the forefront and dropping the ball on a good deal of its emotional groundwork. What seemed to be substantial building blocks do not pay off in the way we might, as scholars of animated family cinema, have anticipated, leaving the movie with an unfinished feeling.
But all in all, it's a bright, compassionate, reasonably educational, and occasionally funny if not altogether worthy tribute to an old favorite. And since we don't have our own WABAC machine to return to a time of regularly scheduled Peabody and Sherman cartoons, this will do okay for now.
If nothing else, it's worth your time for the puns.
3/5
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Carson Daly Renewed For 13th Season: We know. You probably need a second to process the news that Last Call With Carson Daly has been been on for 12 years and you managed to ignore it for all 12. But it's true. We're old, TRL has been off the air for forever, and Daly's 1:35AM talk show will be on for another year. [Deadline]
HBO Snags Ryan Murphy’s latest Show: Last week, Hollywood.com told you that Ryan Murphy was shopping around for a network to nab his newest racy drama, Open — and it looks like HBO was the highest bidder. Described as a modern, provocative exploration of human sexuality and relationships, Open has been given a pilot order at the premium cable network and Casting is expected to begin shortly for filming in the fall. HBO president Michael Lombardo says he is thrilled the network will take part in Murphy’s newest TV endeavor. “I think it is a perfect marriage of an idea and execution. This is an area we’ve been talking about doing something in for some time, and Ryan did it in a way that is enormously engaging,” Lombardo said. [Deadline]
Captain Jack, Meet Olivia Pope: Fans of the British cult hit Doctor Who — and, of course, Shonda Rimes' addicting procedural Scandal — were thrilled when Rimes sent out a tweet last night confirming that one of the former's most beloved stars, John Barrowman, would be appearing on her show. And by "fans of both Doctor Who and Scandal" we mean us, and we're maybe peeing our pants a little about Captain Jack and Olivia Pope being onscreen together. [Twitter]
Bruno Mars' 27 Sisters Got a Show: Four, 27... same deal. Either way, the pop star has four sisters and WE tv is making a show about them called The Lylas. The show will focus on the girls as they pursue musical careers and look pretty. [Hollywood Reporter]
The Vampire Diaries Casts a Big Bad: The Vampire Diaries' fourth season has been centered around the hunt for a dead guy named Silas, and now that said dead guy is no longer dead, he's just been body-hopping within the show's cast. But now, the CW hit has cast a face for the name in actor Scott Parks, who recently appeared on Homeland. [EW]
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Just because Nick Kroll's new sketch show on Comedy Central is called Kroll Show doesn't mean the series isn't a team effort. "It's called Kroll Show, and obviously I'm in every sketch, but that just becomes the premise that ties everything together," the comedian tells Hollywood.com ahead of the series' Jan. 16 premiere. "Each sketch is me and Jenny Slate, me and John Mulaney, me and Fred Armisen, me and Andy Milonakis, me and whoever, so that in a way it becomes an ensemble. Really it's a showcase, and we're all equals in those sketches."
And that's not even including the three men Kroll collaborated with the most. "What I love about this show is between Johnathan Krisel, who directs it (Portlandia, Tim and Eric), John Levenstein (The Life and Times of Tim, Arrested Development) and Jon Daly, who's an actor and supervising producer, just amongst those three guys alone you have incredible comic minds who have a ton of say in what happens," he says. "I have the privilege of hiring or collaborating with people whose opinions I respect, and [whom] I will defer to."
The new show, which debuts at 10:30 p.m. following the Workaholics premiere, features Kroll and company in skits ranging from a Degrassi-esque Canadian kids show called Wheels Ontario, in which Kroll plays the new, able kid in school whose classmates are all in wheelchairs, to a reality TV spoof called PubLIZity in which he plays a vapid New York City publicist.
Don't worry, you'll see some returning favorites too: El Chupacabra and Bobby Bottleservice, among any others, will have their own segments on the new show too. Although he's got such a wide-ranging group of characters at the ready, Kroll says he can't pick a favorite. "It sounds cheesy but it's kind of whatever character I'm doing at that moment — partly because I don't shoot anything that I'm not already excited about, and then two, the beauty of doing a sketch show is that every three days it's something new," he says. "You're like alright, I've been getting into makeup as a woman for the past two days, my feet are f---ing killing me, and I'm super psyched to not be Liz anymore."
Much like Kroll's network mates in sketch, Key &amp; Peele, Kroll is excited that the genre is making a comeback thanks to the Internet. "I think [Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele have] done an amazing job at paving the way for really smart, really well-executed sketch comedy. And yet what we're doing is going to be very different from what they've done," Kroll reveals. "But I think it's been really great for Comedy Central to see what they've done and for the audience to be excited about sketch again in the way they haven't on that network for a while."
Kroll Show airs Wednesday nights at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.
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[PHOTO CREDIT: Comedy Central]
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Take a break from assembling your anti-stampede Black Friday gear (may I suggest camo, combat boots and a thick layer of full-body bubble wrap?) and give thanks for The Voice. On last night’s episode, the top 10 were trimmed to eight — it’s time to separate the turkey from the giblets.
Carson Daly announces that Cassadee Pope’s wonderful cover of “Over You” has hit No. 1 on the iTunes charts — dethroning “Gangnam Style,” which Carson delightfully pronounces as “Gagnam.” Please, please, please let this somehow mean that the top eight will have to sing in Korean next week. Anyway, I’m fairly sure that The Voice is the last network TV show that Psy has yet to appear on.
As The Voice relentlessly continues to promote Xtina’s new album, Dez Duron and Sylvia Yacoub join her for “Let There Be Love,” a likeable dance track. If you ever find yourself wondering how many weeks of The Voice remain in this season, just count up the number of songs from Lotus Christina has yet to perform on the show.
PHOTOS: TV's Best Bitchfaces (PHOTOS) When Adam Levine compliments Daly’s ability to project over the crowd, Carson chalks it up to his time hosting TRL. “Those were the days,” Adam comments in passing, before continuing to talk about something else — just as, in one of the sad-funniest funny-sad moments in recent television, Carson answers almost inaudibly: “They were.” These one-hour results episodes always feel like an exercise in killing time — after all, if all they did was announce the winners, we’d be wrapped up by 8:02. We open with what feels like a 20-minute recap of the previous night’s show, followed by a cutesy get-to-know-us confessional segment. Allow me to save you the trouble: Cassadee has a fish named Ted. Cody Belew loves it when people fall. Adam’s undershirts cost $600. Terry McDermott does a “dead-on” impression of John Travolta from Grease, which is terrible. Trevin Hunte beatboxes, which is terrible. Cee Lo Greensmells good. Dez once had cornrows. I have lost interest. Speaking of gimmicks, viewers at home are invited to choose if the teams will perform a song by Cheap Trick or Pat Benatarduring this episode by voting with hashtags in their tweets — sadly, you can no longer participate, because we live in the future. The first artists to be saved by America’s votes: from Team Cee Lo, Nicholas David, and Blake Shelton’s adopted daughter (it’s inevitable) Cassadee Pope. Guest stars Rascal Flatts perform “Change,” accompanied by Cody and Cassadee. I keep hoping the lead singer (Rascal?) will segue into “Life Is a Highway” even though that’s already been performed on the show this season. No luck. By the way, frontman Gary LeVox’s last name means “The Voice” in French — coincidence, or Illuminati? Dez is the next artist to move on to the top eight, followed shortly thereafter by Cody.
PHOTOS: 12 Hot (and Horrifying) TV Nude Scenes Teammates Bryan Keith, Melanie Martinez, and Amanda Brown join coach Adam for a nicely ungimmicky cover of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” I like that there aren’t any background dancers or seizure-inducing lightshows, just four people warmly goofing around on stage. As has become increasingly common on The Voice, Adam ostentatiously holds a guitar that he plays for all of 10 seconds — can’t y’all just let the capable house band get the credit they deserve? The next performer to make the top 8 is — hold up, Melanie Martinez? I assumed she was a goner. This is a game-changer. The Twitter votes are in: Team Blake and Team Christina take the stage for “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” I’m pretty sure they do a good job, but I can’t really hear them over my own singing, because come on, it’s Pat Benatar. Terry McDermott, pride of Scotland (and Team Blake), is saved next, and — after a cruelly timed commercial break — so is Trevin. Defeating Bryan Keith and Sylvia Yacoub, Amanda Brown is named the final contestant in the top 8. I love Amanda, but I’m bummed that Sylvia’s heading home. She and De’Borahare the only two losing contestants I’ve felt actively sad for. You are beautiful, Sylvia, no matter what they say — oh god, that would’ve been a great song for you. Now I feel even worse. The top 8 return to The Voiceon Monday. Happy Thanksgiving! See you next week — or whenever the tryptophan finally wears off. Follow Molly on Twitter @mollyfitz. More: The Voice Recap: Perfect Ten The Voice Recap: Stayin’ Alive (Until Next Week) The Voice Recap: Hit the Road, Jack From Our Partners: Prince William Shares Personal Snapshots of Royal Air Force Life (PHOTOS)(Celebuzz)
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David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas consists of six stories set in various periods between 1850 and a time far into Earth's post-apocalyptic future. Each segment lives on its own the previous first person account picked up and read by a character in its successor creating connective tissue between each moment in time. The various stories remain intact for Tom Tykwer's (Run Lola Run) Lana Wachowski's and Andy Wachowski's (The Matrix) film adaptation which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The massive change comes from the interweaving of the book's parts into one three-hour saga — a move that elevates the material and transforms Cloud Atlas in to a work of epic proportions.
Don't be turned off by the runtime — Cloud Atlas moves at lightning pace as it cuts back and forth between its various threads: an American notary sailing the Pacific; a budding musician tasked with transcribing the hummings of an accomplished 1930's composer; a '70s-era investigatory journalist who uncovers a nefarious plot tied to the local nuclear power plant; a book publisher in 2012 who goes on the run from gangsters only to be incarcerated in a nursing home; Sonmi~451 a clone in Neo Seoul who takes on the oppressive government that enslaves her; and a primitive human from the future who teams with one of the few remaining technologically-advanced Earthlings in order to survive. Dense but so was the unfamiliar world of The Matrix. Cloud Atlas has more moving parts than the Wachowskis' seminal sci-fi flick but with additional ambition to boot. Every second is a sight to behold.
The members of the directing trio are known for their visual prowess but Cloud Atlas is a movie about juxtaposition. The art of editing is normally a seamless one — unless someone is really into the craft the cutting of a film is rarely a post-viewing talking point — but Cloud Atlas turns the editor into one of the cast members an obvious player who ties the film together with brilliant cross-cutting and overlapping dialogue. Timothy Cavendish the elderly publisher could be musing on his need to escape and the film will wander to the events of Sonmi~451 or the tortured music apprentice Robert Frobisher also feeling the impulse to run. The details of each world seep into one another but the real joy comes from watching each carefully selected scene fall into place. You never feel lost in Cloud Atlas even when Tykwer and the Wachowskis have infused three action sequences — a gritty car chase in the '70s a kinetic chase through Neo Seoul and a foot race through the forests of future millennia — into one extended set piece. This is a unified film with distinct parts echoing the themes of human interconnectivity.
The biggest treat is watching Cloud Atlas' ensemble tackle the diverse array of characters sprinkled into the stories. No film in recent memory has afforded a cast this type of opportunity yet another form of juxtaposition that wows. Within a few seconds Tom Hanks will go from near-neanderthal to British gangster to wily 19th century doctor. Halle Berry Hugh Grant Jim Sturgess Jim Broadbent Ben Whishaw Hugo Weaving and Susan Sarandon play the same game taking on roles of different sexes races and the like. (Weaving as an evil nurse returning to his Priscilla Queen of the Desert cross-dressing roots is mind-blowing.) The cast's dedication to inhabiting their roles on every level helps us quickly understand the worlds. We know it's Halle Berry behind the fair skinned wife of the lunatic composer but she's never playing Halle Berry. Even when the actors are playing variations on themselves they're glowing with the film's overall epic feel. Jim Broadbent's wickedly funny modern segment a Tykwer creation that packs a particularly German sense of humor is on a smaller scale than the rest of the film but the actor never dials it down. Every story character and scene in Cloud Atlas commits to a style. That diversity keeps the swirling maelstrom of a movie in check.
Cloud Atlas poses big questions without losing track of its human element the characters at the heart of each story. A slower moment or two may have helped the Wachowskis' and Tykwer's film to hit a powerful emotional chord but the finished product still proves mainstream movies can ask questions while laying over explosive action scenes. This year there won't be a bigger movie in terms of scope in terms of ideas and in terms of heart than Cloud Atlas.
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Welcome to The Voice, the reality singing competition show that’s done for chairs what La-Z-Boy did for music. Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and Cee Lo Green are back to duke it out in the fourth installment of season three’s blind auditions.
Throughout the episode, Blake giddily brandishes his Male Vocalist of the Year award from ACM, the Academy of Country Music (pro tip, Blake: if you need to explain an acronym four times, it becomes exponentially less impressive). He keeps his trophy tucked behind him as a bargaining chip, and one can only imagine that he’s commissioned a specially designed nook for it in the shower.
Seventeen-year-old Melanie Martinez, our first hopeful, is a human cartoon character: half-Pebbles Flintstone and half- Sailor Jupiter, or maybe just a Tim Burton-redesigned Powerpuff Girl.She offers a completely unexpected cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” playing guitar while keeping time on a tambourine with her feet (lending further credence to my Flintstones comparison. Her sexy, playful voice bears — as Adam says — some similarities to Björk’s, and the judges praise her for sounding as unique as she looks.
Melanie’s Result: Team Adam
Backstage, Cupid has dozens of contestants and their families line-dancing to his “Cupid Shuffle,” the 2007 novelty song that crowned him king of bar mitzvahs and roller rinks across the land. “Does this whole idea of being a one-hit wonder just eat at you?” asks Carson Daly, whose community college Intro Psychology class is going well, thank you.
Despite The Voice’s insistence on playing B-roll of him dancing alone in front of a mirror — something no human male has been able to pull off non-creepily since The Silence of the Lambs — Cupid seems like a kind, genuinely talented man, but sadly proves to be his own worst enemy.
Although he longs to be taken seriously, Cupid bizarrely chooses to audition with the “Cupid Shuffle” (forever the poor man’s “Cha Cha Slide”), the very song that both “defines” and “confines” him.
Bad call, bro. Cupid’s adequate performance draws no interest from the judges, but when their chairs turn, Cee Lo recognizes him instantly. “That’s him, that’s his actual song,” Green cries, and the awkward, auditorium-wide silence that follows has permanently replaced the naked-in-front-of-the-whole-class scenario as my subconscious’s go-to nightmare.
At Cee Lo’s request, he sings something else — a fantastic a capella “Let’s Get It On” — but Cupid’s arrow has already missed its mark.
Up next on The Voice, Marcia Griffiths and Los del Rio.
Cupid’s Result: Team Nobody
A single father, Brian Scartocci delivers a powerful, capable version of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” that’s a little John Legend, a little Michael Bublé. I find him inexplicably annoying in spite of his obvious talent, mostly because he’s wearing a scorpion belt buckle that is as hideous as it is large (very).
In wooing Brian to his team, Adam can’t help but note that he has actually had the chance to meet Stevie Wonder, as well as to sing with Stevie Wonder, and has he mentioned that he knows Stevie Wonder personally?
Brian’s Result: Team Adam
Married couple Shawn and Natasha perform together as Rhythm Amplitude — I mean, Tempo Bandwidth — I mean, Beat Frequency. With Shawn’s shaved head plus indoor sunglasses and Natasha’s crimped, bleached hair plus purple eyeshadow, it’s like a celebrity look-alike agency sent over a third-rate Pitbull and a fourth-rate Xtina.
Some of Beat Frequency’s harmonies on Katy Perry’s “E.T.” are gorgeous — in particular, Natasha’s voice can soar — but Shawn’s take on Kanye West’s rap is downright cringe-worthy.
Beat Frequency’s Result: Team Christina
College athlete Tyler Lillestol decided to pursue singing when he gave up on baseball — yup, that’s the music business for you, good old reliable plan B.
Tyler recently sang the national anthem at Dodger Stadium. After his performance, Carson Daly appeared on the Jumbotron to invite Lillestol to the blind auditions, and then spent the next 10 minutes unsuccessfully soliciting someone, anyone, to appear on the Kiss Cam with him.
Tyler’s “U Got It Bad” demonstrates a smooth, silky voice, but not one of professional quality.
Tyler’s Result: Team Nobody
You can tell Liz Davis is a country girl because she likes “to get on the back of a four-wheeler and ride around for no reason,” which is one aspect of Southern life that I’m pretty sure they glossed over in Gone with the Wind.
Despite being a pretty 25-year-old with kind of a young- Jean Smart thing going on, Liz belts “Here for the Party” like a brassy, middle-aged barfly — which is to say, exactly as the song is meant to be sung.
Liz’s Result: Team Blake
(During the commercial, I discover through some characteristically neurotic Googling that Liz previously competed on something called P. Diddy’s Starmaker, a reality music contest that she ultimately won — so I guess the show’s title was a little misleading, am I right, guys?
But get this. Liz actually performed the same song on that other show. And that’s not all. It turns out that Beat Frequency briefly appeared on The X Factor, singing — wait for it — “E.T.”
I feel so dirty.)
Despite Senator Ted Stevens’s (R-Alaska) infamous insistence that the Internet is but a “series of tubes,” Anchorage native JR Aquino is a web sensation — his homemade music videos have logged more than 45 million views on YouTube, where he’s one of the top 100 most-subscribed musicians in the world.
JR’s beautiful falsetto sounds uncertain on the highest notes of “Just the Way You Are,” but his voice has a sweetness that would make Bruno Mars proud.
JR’s Result: Team Cee Lo
Carson surprises Agina Alvarez — not to be confused with her brother, Enis — with an invitation to the blind auditions while she folds towels at the tennis club where she works. Signed to Sony Records and then an indie label as a teenager, she released a Latin album before her second record company shelved her.
Agina’s screechy disco voice brings lots of power to “Turn the Beat Around,” but all in all, is far from the most pleasant (or least feline) thing I have ever heard.
Agina’s Result: Team Nobody
Our next contestant is Nicholas David: stay-at-home dad by day, musician by night. Nicholas struggled with his drinking and his weight after college — ballooning to 300 pounds — but worked his way to back to health with the love and support of his fiancée. It’s phenomenal that he was able to “shed the weight” and “shed the booze,” but what about the facial bird’s nest that he mistakenly believes to be a beard?
Nicholas’s soulful, jazzy version of “Stand by Me” wins him a place on Team Cee Lo, though it’s clear to me he’s really a lost member of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
Nicholas’s Result: Team Cee Lo
Alessandra Guercio is a 17-year-old LaGuardia student — that’s the Fame high school, not the airport. LaGuardia Arts blends a normal high school curriculum with rigorous performing arts training, a drama geek wildlife preserve where no slushies are thrown (is it just me or does Alessandra have a little Rachel Berry going on in the face?).
Her cover of “The Climb” is impressively strong and controlled, but almost clinical — exactly as if she’d learned to sing in a classroom.
“It was just a great…vocal performance… It was just, like, awesome,” Cee Lo stammers, presumably occupied with desperately trying to recall the age of consent in the state of California.
Alessandra’s Result: Team Adam
Dancer Avery Wilson has never had a singing lesson. Turns out he was right to save the money — his panty-dropping “Without You” is unpolished but beautiful. His voice oozes with personality; Wilson is, stylistically, Alessandra’s inverse.
Adam calls the crowd’s boisterous response to Avery the show’s “most spirited” yet. The judges are equally captivated, and Avery earns the episode’s only four-chair turnaround.
Avery’s Result: Team Cee Lo
The Voice is back tonight at 8 pm for more blind auditions. Will there ever be anything but blind auditions, or will this “season” end next week with each coach hosting a 16-guest musical sleepover?
Get at me on Twitter @mollyfitz.
[Image Credit: NBC]
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Last night, The Voice returned for its third season premiere on NBC. Meanwhile, somewhere in Beverly Hills, Simon Cowell pouted for two hours straight.
The Voice’s blind auditions are like speed dating, except your would-be partner refuses to look at you and insists on sitting in something that a James Bond villain would have his teeth cleaned in. So, not awkward at all. Slap on a nametag and ladle yourself a generous glass of punch: It’s go time.
Celebrity mentors Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, and Blake Shelton open the episode with a four-person cover of “Start Me Up.” For the performance, Christina wears a rhinestone-encrusted bustier, which might seem unusual in a world where Cee Lo wasn’t dressed in a white, full-body tunic lifted from a stall at the Renaissance Faire.
The blind auditions begin with Terry McDermott, a Scottish rocker. My instant fondness for Terry — and his tiny, precious son in his tiny, precious blazer — is matched only by my desire to forcefully shear his overgrown moptop, skyrocketing the singer to #2 on my list of celebrities whose hair I feel personally compelled to maintain (Anthony Davis, I’m coming for you).
Terry takes on The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” He does the classic rock anthem justice with controlled yet soaring vocals. As Adam puts it, Terry’s is a “tried and true rock-and-roll voice.”
Terry’s Result: Team Blake (also known as Team Ovulation-Inducing Accents)
A funny and commanding presence, De’Borah transitioned from a traditionally feminine style to an androgynous appearance at the age of 18; she casually explains that she’s “not into the gender thing.” Gendah schmendah. In a pair of oversized glasses, a bright coral sweater and matching skinny jeans, De’Borah is empirically adorable.
De’Borah’s playful, throaty interpretation of Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” is loaded with personality. Although the smart money was on Cee Lo, De’Borah chooses Christina, citing Aguilera’s “The Voice Within” as an inspiration for finding the strength to be herself. Let’s all take a minute to reflect on the wisdom of grungy, brunette Xtina circa 2002.
Don’t mind me, you guys. Just a little bit of water coming out my faceholes.
De’Borah’s Result: Team Christina
Another blonde, fresh-faced aspiring country star, Gracia Harrison seems at first like this season’s RaeLynn — except she yodels. Obviously. While part of me was hoping for a disaster of Swiss avalanche proportions, her vocally adventurous version of “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” was delightful.
Adam proclaims her the best country singer ever heard on The Voice, but unsurprisingly, Gracia chooses Mr. Miranda Lambert as her coach. Hell hath no fury like a Levine scorned: Adam busts out a twangy Blake Shelton impression, apparently harboring a secret desire to transition from SNL musical guest to host (no, thank you).
Gracia’s Result: Team Blake
Sixteen-year-old Garrett Gardner learned to love soul from his professional musician father, who died of cancer two years ago. Garrett’s take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” isn’t bad by any means, but sounds a little too much like a weak John Fogerty impression. To generate an improbably grown-up growl, he stands doubled over, grabbing at his stomach like he’s suffering from an ulcer.
Garrett goes unchosen, though the judges are encouraging, assuring him that better vocal control will come naturally with age and experience. Hugs and sniffles all around.
Garrett’s Result: Team Nobody
NEXT: The spooky result of Hollywood’s genetic experiment.
Once home-schooled, “small-town West Texas girl” Devyn DeLoera overcame shyness through her love of performing. Describing what she’s about to do as “suicidal,” Devyn goes full-on All About Eve with a cover of Aguilera’s very own “Ain’t No Other Man.” Luckily, Devyn’s full-bodied, soulful cover pleases the Supreme High Priestess, who allows the impudent child to live, and to join her team.
Devyn’s Result: Team Christina
Bronx-born Bryan Keith boasts an impressive musical pedigree: his father, Ray de la Paz, is a Grammy-winning salsa singer. Bryan’s sexy, radio-ready version of Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain” turns around all four judges.
Bryan’s Result: Team Adam
(At this point in the show I realize that Carson Daly, interviewing Bryan’s family backstage, is barely recognizable to me. Gone is the baby-faced VJ of my youth; in his place stands an ambiguously creepy, middle-aged man, who looks more like one of the performers’ dads than a TV personality of the genus Seacrest. But whatever, the gauntness kind of works for him, and I’m into it.)
Does Daniel Rosa look familiar? The 21-year-old was rejected in his blind audition last season (in a flashback video, mean girl Blake mouths “pitchy” from behind his chair), but he’s back and more earnest than ever. This time, he offers a stripped-down cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” — and the judges see the error of their ways.
Daniel’s Result: Team Cee Lo
Anita Antoinette is a Jamaica native and a recent graduate of Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music. Her rendition of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” is beautiful, but too superficial — the judges leave their buttons untouched, commenting that her cheerful performance didn’t engage with the song’s heavy subject matter.
She asks to sing the song again, a capella this time, and the coaches oblige her. Damn, girl. Why didn’t you do that in the first place? Goosebumps and shivers abound, but it’s too late for Anita.
Anita’s Result: Team Nobody
Twenty-four-year-old Joe Kirkland, one-time frontman of the band Artist vs. Poet — if you wanted to write a joke name for an emotive indie band, you’d throw that one out because it’s too on-the-nose — is ready for a solo career. In his audition, he brought a bubblegum Billie Joe Armstrong sensibility to “Gives You Hell.”
Joe’s Result: Team Adam
Jessica Sharpe’s melodic Southern accent had me thinking she was destined for Team Blake, but alas, it was not meant to be. Despite my initial excitement at her choice of “Son of a Preacher Man” (Dusty 4 Lyfe), the performance felt a little hokey, like a wedding band’s stale go-to number. From behind her chair, Christina assumes her best McKayla Maroney face, and the other judges are equally unimpressed. Sorry, sweet pea.
Jessica’s Result: Team Nobody
(Before our final contestant of the evening, we breeze through a few unsuccessful auditions. The clear highlight of these is a brief appearance by someone named Danny Hunter Jones, who is such an uncannily perfect blend of Joe Jonas and Zac Efron that I can draw no other conclusion than that some seriously dark genetic experimentation is going down in a bunker under Hollywood.)
Raised in Jamaica, Queens by his garbage-collector dad, soft-spoken Trevin Hunte rounds out the first round of blind auditions with a surprisingly powerful version of Beyoncé’s “Listen.” Trevin’s belting garners a well-deserved standing ovation, and Cee Lo finds it hard to believe that Trevin has had issues with self-confidence. D’aww.
Trevin’s Result: Team Cee Lo
The Voice is back both tomorrow night and Wednesday. Has Cee Lo finally trained his cockatoo to sing? Will Adam Levine go rogue and submit himself, in an unconvincing false mustache, as his own team member? Stay tuned.
[Image Credit: NBC]
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A kids’ movie without the cheeky jokes for adults is like a big juicy BLT without the B… or the T. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may have a title that sounds like it was made up in a cartoon sequel laboratory but when it comes to serving up laughs just think of the film as a BLT with enough extra bacon to satisfy even the wildest of animals — or even a parent with a gaggle of tots in tow. Yes even with that whole "Afro Circus" nonsense.
It’s not often that we find exhaustively franchised films like the Madagascar set that still work after almost seven years. Despite being spun off into TV shows and Christmas specials in addition to its big screen adventures the series has not only maintained its momentum it has maintained the part we were pleasantly surprised by the first time around: great jokes.
In this third installment of the series – the trilogy-maker if you will – directing duo Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath add Conrad Vernon (director Monsters Vs. Aliens) to the helm as our trusty gang swings back into action. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are stuck in Africa after the hullaballoo of Madagascar 2 and they’ll do anything to get back to their beloved New York. Just a hop skip and a jump away in Monte Carlo the penguins are doing their usual greedy schtick but the zoo animals catch up with them just in time to catch the eye of the sinister animal control stickler Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand). And just like that the practically super human captain is chasing them through Monte Carlo and the rest of Europe in hopes of planting Alex’s perfectly coifed lion head on her wall of prized animals.
Luckily for pint-sized viewers Dubois’ terrifying presence is balanced out by her sheer inhuman strength uncanny guiles and Stretch Armstrong flexibility (ah the wonder of cartoons) as well as Alex’s escape plan: the New Yorkers run away with the European circus. While Dubois’ terrifying Doberman-like presence looms over the entire film a sense of levity (which is a word the kiddies might learn from Stiller’s eloquent lion) comes from the plan for salvation in which the circus animals and the zoo animals band together to revamp the circus and catch the eye of a big-time American agent. Sure the pacing throughout the first act is practically nonexistent running like a stampede through the jungle but by the time we're palling around under the big top the film finds its footing.
The visual splendor of the film (and man is there a champion size serving of it) the magnificent danger and suspense is enhanced to great effect by the addition of 3D technology – and not once is there a gratuitous beverage or desperate Crocodile Dundee knife waved in our faces to prove its worth. The caveat is that the soundtrack employs a certain infectious Katy Perry ditty at the height of the 3D spectacular so parents get ready to hear that on repeat until the leaves turn yellow.
But visual delights and adventurous zoo animals aside Madagascar 3’s real strength is in its script. With the addition of Noah Baumbach (Greenberg The Squid and the Whale) to the screenwriting team the script is infused with a heightened level of almost sarcastic gravitas – a welcome addition to the characteristically adult-friendly reference-heavy humor of the other Madagascar films. To bring the script to life Paramount enlisted three more than able actors: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston) Gia the Leopard (Jessica Chastain) and Stefano the Italian Sealion (Martin Short). With all three actors draped in European accents it might take viewers a minute to realize that the cantankerous tiger is one and the same as the man who plays an Albuquerque drug lord on Breaking Bad but that makes it that much sweeter to hear him utter slant-curse words like “Bolshevik” with his usual gusto.
Between the laughs the terror of McDormand’s Captain Dubois and the breathtaking virtual European tour the Zoosters’ accidental vacation is one worth taking. Madagascar 3 is by no means an insta-classic but it’s a perfectly suited for your Summer-at-the-movies oasis.